Mduffman25

The Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years in 2004. The Chicago White Sox raised the trophy in 2005, their first championship in 88 years. Having their crosstown rivals celebrate just rubbed more salt into the Cubs' already tender wounds. The city of Chicago now is giddy over the Bears' return to the Super Bowl, calling the 21-year stretch between championship games a "drought."

Twenty-one years is nothing. The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908, the same year Henry Ford developed the first Model T automobile, Teddy Roosevelt was president and the Wright Brothers were still fine-tuning their airplane.

The 98-year stretch without a championship is the longest in pro sports, and there are some who think the Cubs should wait one more year -- for historic reasons only.

"I think the Cubs will win in 2008 because that's when the curse of the goat ends -- it'll be 100 years," said 10-year-old Cole Hartley of Princeville, Ill., who attended a Caravan stop in downstate Peoria.

If you don't know about the goat, you're not a Cubs fan. Legend has it that Chicago tavern owner William Sianis was forbidden to take his goat to the fourth game of the 1945 World Series at Wrigley Field, so he put a curse on the team. Sianis had a ticket for the goat, but stadium officials said no, reportedly because the goat smelled. Sianis' son, Sam, was invited back twice in an effort to lift the hex. Obviously, it didn't work.

"I don't believe in curses," Pafko said. "That had nothing to do with it -- a goat didn't come out to play the game. He's part of history and it makes a good story, but there's no truth to that."

Pafko, Len Merullo and Phil Cavarretta are the only living members of that '45 Cubs team, which lost in seven games to the Detroit Tigers despite Cavarretta's .423 effort in the series. The Cubs may not have even reached the championship series that year if some of the best players were playing baseball and not serving their country in the war. The Cardinals, playing without Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter, among others, finished just three games behind the Cubs.

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MnTwInS4eVa

Chris Heel

Interesting and good read. I don't want to put the cart before the horse so to speak, but I think if everything goes smoothly with no injuries, I think Cubs have a fair chance at it this season. Time will tell though.

UKCubsFan

we need a great year from some average pitchers to break it this year. As much as i think Zambrano and Lilly will have 13+ wins this season, the back end of the rotation doesnt fill me with confidence. However the offense looks hot and Ramirez Soriano and Lee combined could gives us 9O homers. As Chris Heel said injuries will play apart as they did last year so if luck goes our way in that department there is no stopping us from a divisional crown or the wildcard!

BUZZMAN2333

ukcf ..

How do you watch the games?

Do you subscribe via the Internet on MLB.com?

They don't show MLB games in the UK do they?

UKCubsFan

yeah i subscribe to MLBtv but we do get games over here on tv. We get 2 live games a week, both in the early hours of the morning.

BUZZMAN2333

I think I remember that vaguely. ... don't they start at 4 or 5 in the morning?

I was there for the playoffs one year.

How do you like MLBtv on the net?